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BUDDHISM
• The religion of Enlightenment
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IS BUDDHISM A RELIGION?
• NO ‘GOD-NOTION’
• NO CREATOR
• NO ULTIMATE REALITY TO WORSHIP
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ESSENCE:
• Buddhism is a way of life
• Ethical
• Psychological
• Philosophy of BECOMING/AWAKENING
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BUDDHIST ALTARS
• Do not focus on an archetypal hero
• Mother, father image
• Rather, a psychological state
• Profound meditation
• Warm compassion
• Fury against illusion
Buddha
under
Bodhi
Tree,
Sri
Lanka
6Gal Vihara, Polannaruwa.
The Buddha is dying
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THAI WALKING BUDDHA9
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BUDDHA AND ‘ULTIMATE QUESTIONS’
- Nature of the soul
- Life after death
- Origin of the universe
- NOT ADDRESSED
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“BEING RELIGIOUS AND FOLLOWING DHARMA HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH
DOGMA THAT THE WORLD IS ETERNAL. FOR WHETHER THE WORLD
IS ETERNAL OR OTHERWISE, BIRHT, OLD AGE, DEATH, SORROW, PAIN,
MISERY, GRIEF AND DESPAIR EXIST. I AM CONCERNED WITH THE
EXTINCTION OF THESE.”
ANALOGY:
• BUDDHA TEACHINGS = RAFT
• SHORE = NIRVANA
• BUT: THE SHORE IS NOT DESCRIBED
• MAKE-UP OF RAFT IS THE BUDDHA’S TEACHINGS
DEER PARK SERMON
• Four
Noble
Truths
• ‘Middle
Way’
“THERE ARE 2 EXTREMES, MONKS, WHICH ARE TO BE AVOIDED. WHAT ARE THESE 2 EXTREMES?
A LIFE GIVEN TO PLEASURES, DEDICATED TO PLEASURES AND LUSTS – THIS IS DEGRADING,
SENSUAL, VULGAR, UNWORTHY AND USELESS. AND A LIFE GIVEN TO SELF-TORTURE – THIS IS
PAINFUL, UNWORTHY, AND USELESS.BY AVOIDING THESE 2 EXTREMES, MONKS, I
HAVE GAINED THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE MIDDLE PATH, WHICH LEADS TO INSIGHT, WHICH LEADS
TO WISDOM, WHICH PRODUCES CALM, KNOWLEDGE, ENLIGHTENMENT AND NIRVANA.”
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FIRST NOBLE TRUTH:
LIFE INEVITABLY INVOLVES SUFFERING:
- Imperfect
- Illness
- Hateful
- Separation
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SECOND NOBLE TRUTH:
THE ORIGIN OF SUFFERING IS OUR DESIRES:
- Grasping for pleasure
- Grasping for becoming
- Grasping for sensual delight
- Grasping for what we don’t have
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THIRD NOBLE TRUTH:
SUFFERING WILL STOP WHEN DESIRES ARE STOPPED:
- When the ‘grasping’ stops
- Elimination of passions
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FOURTH NOBLE TRUTH:
THERE IS A WAY TO GET TO THIS POINT: THE EIGHTFOLD PATH
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1) RIGHT UNDERSTANDING
• Understanding reality through the Four Noble Truths
• Seeing through illusions
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2) RIGHT THOUGHT/MOTIVES
• Uncover ‘unwholesome’ emotional roots that guide our thinking
• Discover and weed out
• Only then do we become free from self-centredness
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3) RIGHT SPEECH
• VS. - Vain talk, gossip, harsh words, lying
• Communication must further truth and harmony
• Including ‘self-talk’: “May you be well and happy today…”
4) RIGHT ACTION
FIVE RULES OF MORAL CONDUCT:
1) DO NOT DESTROY LIFE2) DO NOT STEAL3) AVOID SEXUAL MISCONDUCT4) DO NOT LIE5) DO NOT USE INTOXICANTS
ABOVE ALL: ALL ACTIONS SHOULD BE BASED ON CLEAR UNDERSTANDING
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5) RIGHT LIVELIHOOD
• How one makes their living
• One’s work should not harm others
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6) RIGHT EFFORT
• Refers to the constant effort that must be put into achieving these goals
• IT TAKES EFFORT!
7) RIGHT MINDFULNESS
• The way to liberation is through the mind
“CHECK YOUR MINDBE ON GUARD
PULL YOURSELF OUTLIKE AN ELEPHANT FROM THE
MUD.”
8) RIGHT MEDITATION
• Applying mental discipline to quiet the mind
THE MIND IS SUBTLE, INVISIBLE, AND TREACHEROUS
USE SKILFUL MEANS TO SEE AND UNDERSTAND ITS NATURE
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KARMA:
• CAUSE OF NEXT LIFE = KARMA
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ANATMAN, SKANDHAS
• ANATMAN - No soul to be reborn; no permanent reality
• SKANDHAS – aggregates
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KARMA: ANALOGY
• Candle analogy
• Domino analogy
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SAMSARA
• Worldly phenomena
• Life, suffering, decay, death, painful rebirth
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NIRVANA“No suffering for him
Who is free from sorrowFree from the fetters of lifeFree in everything he does
He has reached the end of his road…
Like a bird invisibly flying in the skyHe lives without possessions
Knowledge his food, freedom his worldWhile others wonder…
He has found freedom –Peaceful his thinking, peaceful his speech
Peaceful his deed, tranquil his mind.”
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Anuradhapura, Sri Lankan Stupa
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TIBETAN CHORTEN/STUPA
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MAITREYA BUDDHA/FUTURE,
UNIVERSAL BUDDHA
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SAMGHA: ORIGINS
• (samgha = community/followers)
• Initially samgha = 5 ascetics
• Set in motion the ‘wheel of dharma/dhamma’
• ANYONE could be part of the Buddha’s group
10 PRECEPTS1) Refrain from taking life (ahimsa)2) Do not take what is not given3) Chastity4) Do not lie or deceive5) Do not take intoxicants6) Consume food in moderation; never after noon7) Do not partake in public spectacles (dancing, singing)8) Do not ornament your body9) Do not recline on wide or high beds10) Do not accept gold or silver
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MONASTICS VS LAY PEOPLE
ONLY FIRST FIVE PRECEPTS FOR LAY FOLLOWERS
ALL TEN FOR MONKS AND NUNS
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THE ‘ORDER’ AND WOMEN
• Women included since time of Buddha
• YET, some hesitation
• Lesser order
• Different, subordinate rules guiding them
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THREE JEWELS/THREE REFUGES
1) I TAKE REFUGE IN THE BUDDHA
2) I TAKE REFUGE IN THE DHARMA
3) I TAKE REFUGE IN THE SAMGHA
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“Come, bhiksu/bhikhuni (monk, nun)”
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WHAT CONSTITUTES THE SAMGHA? WHO IS
‘WORTHY’?
• Order of monks and nuns came to be viewed as ‘ideal’
• Laypeople came to be viewed as the inferior way
• LED TO MAHAYANA AND THERAVADA DIVISION
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